Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Quotes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (often abbreviated to Law & Order: SVU) is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and airs on NBC, the series premiered on September 20, 1999 as the first spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama Law & Order.

Being able to have the gift that (executive producer) Neal Baer and everyone gave me of being able to not just strip down emotionally, but strip completely down — look-wise, wardrobe-wise, hair-wise, make-up-wise and all of that stuff — and be something that I’ve never been before, really allowed me, emotionally, physically and mentally, to go to a different place. So, there was no preparation. I wouldn’t have known how to do that. It just happened. We just got there the first day and I went, ‘Okay, I have one job to do and that is to give everything I’ve got. And, out of that, hopefully people will know how important the issue is, and they will feel the depth of what I think this girl feels and goes through, and hopefully it’ll work.’ Ultimately, I think it did.

— Jennifer Love Hewitt didn't prepare for the role of a r*pe victim in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit / September 29, 2010

Before I got there, I thought that I was going to be able to have a lot more control over my emotions while doing it than I did. I credit the cast and the crew, and Mariska and Helen specifically, because they really pushed me. They said, ‘Great, so everything that people know you for, and everything that you usually give is awesome, but it’s not going to work here. You’re going to have to go deeper’. I think I learned a really important lesson, as an actress, that hair and make-up is great, but the lack of it is better. It really does something for you, when you have to look at yourself covered in blood. I caught glimpses of myself and I was like, ‘Gosh, I don’t know who that actress is at all. I don’t know who this person is.

— Jennifer Love Hewitt didn't prepare for the role of a r*pe victim in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit / September 29, 2010

There really was no preparation. I was afraid to wrap my head around it, to be bluntly honest with you. It was a scary place to go. I’m not usually an actor that does that. I usually play characters who are nice, sweet, fun women. I had to do different things on Ghost Whisperer, with talking to the dead and stuff like that, but this was different. I don’t think I ever could have been prepared for this. It was definitely scary.

— Jennifer Love Hewitt didn't prepare for the role of a r*pe victim in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit / September 29, 2010